US Immigration from Brazil

Here's a report on our combo I-751/N-400 interview this morning at the Atlanta USCIS field office.

The interview was scheduled for 8:50 am. We arrived at 8 am so we used the extra 30 minutes to review all of our documents, well-organized in labeled file folders, and the N-400 application one more time. We entered the building at 8:30 am, showed the two interview notices (I-751 and N-400), and went through security, then checked in at the reception window where an employee took my husband's photo and fingerprint to confirm his identity. Then we went up to the 3rd floor waiting area. About 45 minutes later, an officer came up to my husband and confirmed our names, then said he would be back in five minutes. When he returned he asked both of us to follow him to his office. Once seated, he asked for our driver's licenses, also for my husband's passport and expired green card. I noticed an open file on his desk, with all 500+ pages of the I-751 submission we sent two years ago. He then had us stand up and do an oath to tell the truth. Then he said he would first consider the pending I-751 and ask questions that either of us could answer, and some questions directed to one of us to answer. The first question was how we met (online initially, three months later in person). He asked a series of questions about why I proposed so quickly (on my second trip to Brazil, only five weeks after our first in-person meeting), and why my husband was willing to commit so quickly to marriage and potentially move to the US. I got the impression that the officer was skeptical about our relationship (we have a 27 year age gap, big income and education differences). We explained that we fell in love immediately when we first met in person, and wanted to be together, so we got married seven months after we first met. He then asked for additional documents to support our relationship, new information from the last two years while the I-751 has been pending. We gave him two years' of quarterly joint bank and credit card account statements, also five years of IRS tax return transcripts, married filing jointly. He looked at these additional documents, kept them, and then said "I am a big photo person, do you have any photos?" My husband handed him a file folder with about twelve pages of photos, 2 per page, from marriage to now, each with a brief description and date. As he flipped through the photos, his countenance changed. The look of doubt from before left his face, and he glanced up and said he was approving the I-751, then asked me to leave. I went to the waiting area while he continued the N-400 interview with only my husband. The officer did not ask to see any of the civil documents we had brought with us, but did ask or review most of the questions on the N-400 application. Then he asked six of the 100 history/government questions, and my husband answered all of them correctly. After that the officer did the reading and writing tests. Following this, he gave my husband a form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, with two marks checked: "you passed the tests of English and U.S. History and government," and "Congratulations! Your application is recommended for approval." The oath ceremony letter will be sent via regular mail. We were all done by 10 am and drove home very happy and relieved that things went so smoothly.

Based on my prior research, Atlanta USCIS schedules oath ceremonies for 4-6 weeks after the interview. Once that happens and he has his naturalization certificate, his US immigration journey will be over, five years after it began when I filed an I-130 petition for him back in July, 2018, a month after we got married in Brazil. I would like to thank all the regular contributors here on VisaJourney for your very helpful advice during this long process, as it has been invaluable to benefit from your experience and sense of community. Good luck to everyone!

My spouse has been here one year, and he is still waiting on Work Authorization

So my brother's son was born in the US but left at a really early age. Now my brother wants to come here with him now that he is over 21 and we both thought that he could petition for him while his son, the US citizen was abroad. On the I-130 it asked for an address in the US, which I believe should have been his current address but we entered mine (US based) since we thought it was something that was needed for communications to be sent. Now the case has been sent to the NVC (approved) but thankfully we caught it early.

Is he out of luck? Does he son needs to enter the US first and start all over?

Question. I sent the paperwork to remove conditions in July 2021 and received the extension letter 10 days later. According to timelines, I was supposed to receive either a letter for interview or a 10 year GC in the mail. Instead, I got another 2 year extension letter. Putting me in a 4 year conditional GC.
Anyone going through the same? My stuff was sent to the CA office. I wonder if at this point it s better to apply for citizenship already.

I paid the AOS fee on 4/17 and then that transaction took the money out of my checking account on 4/18. The NVC portal showed the AOS fee as 'Paid' on 4/20.

I then proceeded to make the payment for the IV fee on 4/20. That transaction took took the money out of my checking account on 4/21. The NVC portal showed the IV fee 'Paid' on 4/23.

Both show paid, so we upload all of our documents and wait for DQ as of 4/25.

As of today, 5/5, I receive an email from NVC about the IV Fee saying "Unfortunately, the receiving bank was unable to accept your payment for the following reason: No Reason Provided." My checking account still has both fees deducted though -- and now the NVC portal is saying 'Not Paid' for the IV Fee and there's a message saying the IV Fee was rejected.

I have read through lots of experiences people have had where it would take a long time to show 'Paid' after they made payment...but that common issue isn't this one. This issue is (I think?) nuanced because the money left my checking account, NVC showed paid, and now it shows unpaid. Has anyone ever heard of this? Should I be worried? What should I do?